I Will Fall For You
by LullabyforaStormyNight
Summary: Sequel to I Will Rise With You, He's not letting go of the promise that was made on that rooftop. He still searches, but does she want the same? She has to keep him safe no matter what. How can she keep both the oath to herself and to him with hurting anyone when anyone who sees her is a threat?
1. Chapter 1

_Tell me… Now be honest, but how can you ever forget someone you loved? Who am I kidding, still love. When you think about that person every time you hear a song with a heavy beat, whenever you see the falling leaves of autumn trees kiss the ground and all you wonder is how they have changed, and every moment of every passing day you see their fleeting face in the corners of your eyes and mind, tell me… How can you ask me to forget? I look for you every day because how can the oath we made be so weak? But, my question for you is this…_

_Do you think they do the same?_

* * *

_4 months ago…_

_Aaron_

It had been done, the decision made and carried out. My footsteps echoed through the silent top floor of Foot Headquarters. The archer was on my left, on my right, just another soldier. Another witness. The gun, still slightly warm from use was strapped in the holster on my thigh. In my hand was something drastically different. My fist clenched tighter around it.

"Wait here," I called out, pushing open the double doors at the end of the hall. The tall, oriental doors were fit for an emperor. They creaked open and I marched straight in.. Oruku Saki stood at the long wall of windows, staring out at the New York City skyline. The morning light was steadily on the rise, silhouetting the uneven line separating the heavens from the artificial life created by man.

"I expect you to have found her? Otherwise I can't imagine why you have returned," the man challenged me. The ultimate leader of our clan stood only in his robes, menacing armor discarded except for a single set of claws on his right hand.

"Yes, my Lord. Unfortunately, I was forced to end her," I responded as I knelt. His posture stiffened, but he did not face me.

"Where is the body?" he shouted. Perhaps it was just me, but I swore his voice shook.

"It was too light out. We were unable to bring it back. Too much of a risk for being spotted."

Sharply the master turned on me; his steely eyes harsh and livid with anger, "Then what proof do you have that she is dead?"

From behind my back, on fist slowly stretched before me. I rose with the one hand still extended. "I believe this should be enough." I nodded towards the length of gold hair in my fist, slightly matted with dry blood.

* * *

_… Now_

_Raphael_

"Wake up," a feminine voice whispered from sweet lips brushing the side of my face.

"No… time for sleep," I protested. She only became more persistent. Her weight shifted so that most of it was on top of me, weighing pleasantly down on my chest. There were many types of pressure, but none was better than the closeness of a beautiful woman. Her fingertips trailed along my collar bones and neck making me shiver.

"Wake up," she ordered again, lowering her mouth onto mine. I kissed her back with a smile on my mouth that I could feel matched hers.

"Okay, okay I'm up," I said finally opening my eyes. Light poured in through the lace trimmed windows. We were at the farmhouse, settled into the master bedroom. Soft white sheets rippled around us. On top of me was no other than Serena, her chin resting on her hand. In the sunlight her hair shown vibrant gold and her eyed sparkled like a freshly rained on forest. My hands wrapped around and rested on the thin white shirt that separated our drastically different skins. My thumbs drew circles into the flesh of her back while I couldn't stop looking at her. She seemed to glow and a cross breeze would gently lift strands of her hair ever so often in the scent of the woods outside the open windows.

God, this girl was gorgeous. "You're beautiful," I whispered.

"And you're delusional," she retorted in the voice that sounded like honey.

Immediately I began to tickle her sides. My large hands wiggled and drifted across her curves. "Am I now? You're out of line girl." Serena's charming laugh filled the air where each sound seemed to hang like the echo of the most beautiful song. She swatted at me playfully and told me to stop, but I wouldn't listen. Finally, in a last resort, she kissed me again. Long and deep, her mouth parted and her tongue slipped through to mix with mine. I shut my eyes and let her pin my arms back again, fully relaxed and completely in love.

"You're falling asleep again," she teased once she broke away from our kiss.

"Not possible, I've been asleep this entire time because being with you is my greatest dream," I mumbled, leaning my face forward to kiss her shoulder, eyes still shut tight.

"Come on, open your eyes," she cooed after kissing each one, "Let me see them again, my love."

I smiled, fully ready to take in more of her golden glow. But when I looked at her again, she was not there anymore. Instead of the woman I loved, there was another version of her that I barely could recognize. Her smooth face was battered with bruising. Long, deep cuts stained the sheets crimson. From where her thigh rested beside mine, I could feel something cold and wet protruding from deep within her muscle. My eyes widened in horror as I fought to sit up. "Serena, no…"

"How could you leave me Raphael? Why couldn't you protect me," her voice croaked out. I watched her skin continue to pale and split in different areas as liquid life escaped the prison of her body. To my greatest horror, a small dark spot surfaced on the center of her forehead. The area grew wider and deeper until a trail of nearly black blood ran down from it. Faint in my memories I heard the distant sound of a gunshot that had once made me want to give up everything. A burgundy line ran over the bridge of her nose and down to the cleft in her chin. Her eyes went wide and empty as she began to crumple. I reeled in her limp frame and held her in my arms.

"I'm so sorry, Serena," whispered into her hair, hoping for some reason that it would fix everything. But it wouldn't. I had lost her. I held the girl tight, slightly rocking her back and forth. Losing her would mean losing part of myself. So many images surrounded me. Everything I wish I had done. Been able to carry her away, tell her that I loved her, had the courage to hold her every second I had the chance… but all that I had now was the cruel laughter behind him and the haunting words of both my greatest enemy and my own voice.

_"You will never have this again."_

But that didn't matter, because suddenly a breath escaped the corpse in my embrace.

"Raph… ple— wak…" she uttered in a series of murmurs. Her voice sounded different and far away. "Wa—up…"

Cutting in and out I couldn't piece together her message. "I… I don't understand."

She then gripped my shoulders with new found energy. Roughly shaking me she hollered, "Raph Wake Up!"

My eyes snapped open, and I shuddered trying to take in a raspy breath. I sat up immediately swinging the hunting knife I began to sleep with about four months ago. Leo knelt next to me having just removed his hands and moving backward. "Raph? You okay?" he asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah Leo, I'm okay." I muttered swinging my legs over to the side. My brother hurried out of my way and looked down at me.

"That one was a bad one wasn't it? I could hear you yelling."

I nodded my head in response. "You won't tell the others right?"

He shook his head back at me. So far Leo was the only one who knew about my nightmares, about the weight I carried since I stumbled home four months ago. Outside, I had healed, but inside… Anyway, Leo understood. Long ago, when he first faced the Shredder alone and been beaten, badly, it had been the first time feeling like he really had failed us. For the longest time he went through something similar to what I faced now.

"What now, brother?" he threw an arm over my shoulder as I picked myself up.

"What I always do on Wednesdays."

* * *

**I hope you guys liked the first chapter! Please Fav/Follow/Review and read I Will Rise With You if you haven't yet! Not for sure on how often I can post because I'm crazy enough to write three stories at once... Oh well!**

**-Lullaby for a Stormy Night**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys for the reviews! Keep it up! Also please Fav/follow! Means so much to me you guys. Enjoy chapter 2**

**-Lullaby for a Stormy Night**

* * *

_Krista_

One hand held a cigarette, the other drifted through my short black hair. I drew the cancer stick to my lips and saw the burning end blaze red as I sucked in deeply. Funny name cancer sticks… for so long my family teased me about my unhealthy habit. But isn't it ironic now? Here I was the one poisoning my body with the pale grey smoke that curled from my nose and mouth as I exhaled smoothly. Maybe I was just lucky.

"Hey." I called down to the young man behind the counter of the Canadian bar. "Another," I said shaking the empty shot glass at eye level so he would see.

"You sure honey? This will be your fourth one." The heavily built, blond bartender tried to lecture me. He pulled a bottle from below, smirking at me like I was some ignorant child who was robbing her father's liquor cabinet for the first time.

"I'm sure sweetheart," I replied in a mocking tone leaning forward and narrowing my eyes. Silently he filled my empty glass with a fresh shot of whiskey. I swirled the caramel colored liquid and watched the colors change in the dim bar lighting. Wild Turkey they called it. Not much of a hard liquor fan myself, but the occasion I found myself in called for something stronger than wine. I knocked back the glass enjoying the way the burn in my throat soon evolved into a warmth in my stomach. It was a familiar feeling to have. Quickly I exchanged the rim of the empty glass with another drag of my cigarette.

I was tempted to call for another shot when another body slipped quietly next to me at the bar. She was a thin thing with unevenly cut short hair that sat just below her chin. Her face looked drawn and her eyes seemed sunken in. "This seat taken?" she asked in a low voice.

"Be my guest." She finished settling in, thanking me with a nod of her grimy face. My new friend's broken fingernails rapped on the counter, exposed by grungy fingerless gloves that matched the rest of her worn out clothes.

"What can I get you to drink, darlin?" the bartender asked, clearly not at all interested in the poor looking girl.

She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, looking back with distrust like a cornered animal. "Give her one of these," I said gesturing to my glass with the end of my cigarette. Pieces of ash slowly dropped to the counter with the movement. "And make it a double, on me."

"Thank you," she muttered.

"No problem, what can I call you anyway?"

"Gene," she replied, light glancing off her stormy green eyes. "You?"

"Krista of course," I smirked back at her. By then her own glass was filled with twice what mine could hold. She upturned the contents into her mouth in one swift motion.

I took one final puff from the lit cigarette before crushing it into my used glass. I dropped a few multicolored bills onto the table, probably over paying the man, but I didn't care. Before I took off for the door, I purred into the girl's ear and slipped a piece of folded paper into her thin hand. "You should come by my room later. I'll be waiting." She crumpled it in her fist as I left the faded scene and into the streets.

…

A few hours had passed, I waited patiently in my motel room. Another cigarette smoked between my fingers as I slouched in a chair, facing the locked door of the shady motel room. Tonight I was much to nervous to do much else. If she did show up, well… it would mean something big, and something that I wasn't sure of. Really it could change my life in one way or the other.

I had dressed for the occasion, dressing down to just a tight black T-shirt that highlighted my toned abdominals and biceps. Black jeans hung low on my hips leaving a white band of bared skin between the pieces of clothing. My hair was gelled back, the front smoothed down to form a sleek, edgy look that flowed back behind my ears. I was as ready as I could be.

At last a knock thudded on my door. I rose from my perch, extinguishing the butt of my cigarette in an ash tray. The now free hand replaced what it had its grip on with the handle of a broad knife the length of my forearm. I crept from the right side of the door, leaning in to peer through the eyehole. Bundled up, I could barely recognize the woman from the bar. Quickly I unlocked the door and reeled her in. She stumbled through the open door but didn't have the chance to even think about falling because I had her pinned to the wall in seconds.

"You have a minute to prove yourself." I growled into her ear. Her face remained stoney even in the threatening presence of my blade at her neck. Slowly she unzipped and drooped her dirty coat to the floor. She then did the same with the threadbare hoodie underneath. Left in only an off-white wife beater, I backed off quickly. She stood proudly; much thinner then I had ever seen her before. The same scarred skin snaking up the backs of her upper arms and over her shoulders.

But the tell tale signs of her identity were the folded fans strapped to her pronounced rib cage and a single tattoo visible on her chest.

"So, it's true then. You are alive." I whispered before bowing to my once renowned leader, "Mistress Senshi, how may I serve you?"

_Serena_

I knelt down to met my old friend, "You no longer bow to me sister. What I will ask of you is only out of our past friendship and bond. It is not an order."

"But Senshi—"

"Serena," I corrected. For it was true I was not who I used to be. She still saw me as someone else, someone I had turned myself into. I just wasn't her anymore.

"Serens, how is it possible? When I got your message it had only been a month since we were told of your death." She continued, leading me to take a seat on the edge of her lumpy bed. I toke it gladly after redressing, feeling suddenly weak and tired. What energy I had was gone again. It seemed to always be so fleeting now.

"Krista, what I tell you tonight must be kept a secret. No one else may know."

She bowed her head and accepting the request, understanding the seriousness in my tone. Taking a shaky breath, I retold the events of the past four months. I told of falling out of the clan, how I lived the night that I was intended to be killed on, how I had barely survived, homeless in the Canadian winter. I even shared with my past sister in arms some of the time I had spent with Raphael and the turtles. The only information I refused to share was the feeling in my chest when I said his name, and what Aaron had really down. The truth was hardly twisted, but there still were certain things I needed to keep her safe from.

After all my cards were laid out on the table, Krista sat back in stunned silence. "I don't believe it," she finally muttered, "all we knew about New York is wrong."

"Yes, and I am sorry for that. I have brought the clan into troubled waters."

"Now you can come home though. Everyone will understand and we can—"

"No," I stopped her right in her tracks.

Her electric blue eyes were fully of confusion and denial, "What do you mean no? We can work things out. Separate fully from the Japanese and American clans if we have to. We're strong enough and we can become our own power, with you as our queen." She was trying so hard, pleading me to not disappear.

"Oroku Saki would kill you all. He would do it without a second thought to get to me. I am a traitor Krista. I must remain dead." I said with a shaky breath, further weakened by the effort of adding force to my words. Krista immediately backed down with a tight jaw, clearly not wanting to exhaust me. "Did you remember what I asked of you?"

Calmly she stood and collected a drawstring bage from the drawer of a battered dresser. "All is in here. Passport, I.D., drivers licenses, cash: the works."

"Thank you."

She smiled before taking a seat next to me. "For everything you've done for my brother, for both of us…"

"Marco was a good man. It was my pleasure to be with him till the end. You forget I know what it is like to lose a brother, which is why I could be there for you too." I smiled resting a hand on her shoulder.

"If it wasn't for you, I never would have found him." It was true. The two had been separated at birth. Marco was brought straight into the world of serving the Foot Clan. Another stolen child of the old ways. Krista had been raised by an aunt, fully aware of needing to find her missing brother. It was thanks to my relationship with Marco that I found her. For the last year of his life he was able to grow close to his long lost sibling again.

"And that is the greatest gift I have ever given."

She looked at me with empty eyes. A strand of black hair had fallen from its sturdy hold and into her solemn face. "What are we going to do without you?"

"You will move on, as you must. There is one more matter of business to discuss."

"What?"

I took a deep breath before standing and facing her head on. "I, Serena Della Notte, adopted daughter of Oroku Saki, leader of the Sicilian order of the Foot Clan, hereby pass my title and its responsibilities to you, Krista Devozione. Do you accept everything that comes with this honor?"

With a shocked but understanding expression, she humbly kneeled before me. "I do, sister."

"Then it shall be my old friend, you will lead the clan into a new age." I motioned for her to rise again, "Aaron is not strong enough to take command and not abuse the power. To anyone who asks this is prearranged before my absence. All the proof you need is in my old bedroom back home. Your smart, you can do it."

"This is truly the last time I will ever see you isn't it?" The usually hard voiced girl asked with a break in her voice.

"Perhaps, and perhaps not. I left some unfinished business in New York. After matters are settled, our paths may cross again."

Her brow furrowed at me, "If you go back to New York what is to stop Saki from killing you?"

My hands rested just above her elbows, "You deserve the truth Krista. And the truth is nothing can stop him. But there is something in New York that matters more."

Suddenly I was swept into a back breaking hug by the bigger girl. She hadn't changed any, but I had lost much of my previous size. But I didn't care. She was my last connection to my life in Italy. My life with Marco. Her eyes held the same glint of hope shinning deep within. "I hope our paths do cross again."

Krista had to stay safe. She was truly my sister and I was so grateful to have known her. I had great doubt in seeing her again, but the tears in the corners of my eyes told the truth about the hope that I felt. When we broke the embrace we both were crying and we each laughed at one another.

"Take care of yourself, and get something to eat. Your thinner that a Milan model during swimsuit season." She called roughly as I turned to leave with the bag containing my alias. It was time to stop hiding and face the new life I had made for myself.

"Good-bye, Krista." I took one last look at the strong woman before the door shut, separating us.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I tried for some fluff, just a little. So sorry for the delay but crazy days lately for me. Enjoy!**

**-Lullaby for a Stormy Night**

* * *

_Raphael_

Heavy snowflakes fell around him. Each could have been easily the size of quarters. They created another snowy layer on top of the already white covered roof top. Well it was February in the big apple, what else could I expect? The air was frigid to match the snow that was suspended around me. Spring was nowhere near close and I still had to wear a heavy black coat, Sherpa lined jeans, and boots that Casey and April were able to send my way from various thrift stores.

I knelt down with one foot up on the raised edge of the current rooftop I was on. I had actually travelled enough tonight that I could make out the East River not too far out in front of me. I mostly definitely could smell it. My masked eyes drifted around the unusually quiet buildings "Where are you?" I asked the steady wind, "Tell me anything. Please. I feel like I'm going crazy and running in circles and I need something. Why do you answer everyone but me. What did I do?"

No answer. For the past three months I spent as many nights as my family would allow going out and searching. I was looking for anything that could possibly tell me where she could be. Maybe it was stupid of me. The fact was she was most likely long gone from New York and out of my life forever. _If she even is still alive._

But I had to do something to fight this phantom feeling that none of it ever happened. If it wasn't for the new scars on my skin, I would believe it was all a dream.

Serena had promised me though, and I was not about to let that oath fail. ACDC _Highway to Hell_ suddenly sounded in my coat pocket. I fished out my old shell cell ready to answer my brother's call. My thumb pressed the side button causing the old phone to expand, not nearly as smooth as years past. _Don really needs to upgrade these, it's been years._ "Yeah?" was my only answer.

"Raph come on and get home. You've been out for five hours tonight. It's too cold." Leo's voice spoke on the other end of the line.

"I'm fine Leo, honest, I—"

"Please Raph, just listen to me. You can go again another night but the temp is dropping too much. I don't want to risk you getting stuck out in this weather." He pleaded over the phone.

I sighed, more irritated at myself than my overprotective brother, "Okay, okay. I'll be home in a couple of minutes."

"Alright bro. Another night and maybe we can—"

"No Leo," I interrupted him gruffly, "This is something I have to do on my own." With that, we silently exchanged goodbyes and I snapped the device shut. I groaned and shoved away from the edge. Snow mixed with dirt crunched beneath my worn out leather boots. I pulled at my collar as I shuffled back across the rectangular roof. So what if I was getting cold? The fact that I was cold blooded was a damn good excuse. The drain pipe I had used to climb up from the alley below was in my sights.

"Time to go, I guess. Take the back roads home, couple of detours, and I'll be back before they have too big of a hissy fit." I had finally reached the back corner of the building. My hand hooked around the top as I crouched down. Holding on, I hopped off and let my feet swing around to balance on the side of the brick wall. Looking down, it wasn't that big of a drop, but I couldn't risk a jump. One bad landing and I was done. A history of fights and beatings left me a little more fragile than what I should have been at eighteen.

_Only eighteen._ That was a weird thought. I always could think otherwise unless I really focused on the date. Age was such a petty thing. Yeah, if I was a human, I would officially be an adult. But really made me _feel _it was my memories.

As I scaled down the drainpipe, I reflected again on my life. Every new hand hold and movement pushed snapshots into my vision. I tried to push them away, but it wasn't working. "Not now, please." I grunted to myself. There was still about 15 feet till I reached a spot I could leap from. My clothes slowed me down too. I was getting worse too, it wasn't just visions anymore, but sounds wafted around me.

I twisted my head around and looked down into the alley below. I saw shadows and ghostly forms. The Shredder stood over the silhouettes of my brothers. Master Splinter was fiercely fighting a group of Foot. Everything I had seen before, and it was happening again. I shouted at them to run, confused how they could just stand there. Angry at why I was just holding myself so far away. Looking back around, I didn't see a brick wall anymore. The fist of a well built ninja went straight for my face. My only option was to let go.

I pushed myself off the wall and into the air. In a short time, I hit the ground. On my feet and still facing where I came from, I was in the middle of it all. All around bodies clashed and the familiar sounds of metal crashing and the grunts of struck ninja. The noise was deafening. I pressed my hands to either side of my head. I wanted to fight, to help my brothers, but I couldn't see straight. I stumbled and closed my eyes tight.

"Raph!" I heard Mikey call before his voice was cut off by a grotesque gurgling.

"No!" I screamed before falling backwards. I caught myself, just barely. My fingers snagged on some chain link behind me. The rattling was far too high and stood out against the rest of the chaos around me.

I opened my eyes slightly, panting heavily. I was in somewhere completely different. My wrists were bound again and a dark figure approached me. He got right up in my face and screamed, "You're nothing freak. She doesn't want you! She's one of us!"

I felt bruising return and cuts reopen although I couldn't see any of them. Aaron continued to scream in a voice I couldn't understand, but I caught a few words. Freak, monster, mistake… but her name most of all. He never touched me though, even if it would have been easier. A beating was so much easier than all of this. Enough was enough. I couldn't take much more. My knee began to buckle at the horror show I was trapped in. There was nothing left but this, and I didn't want anymore. They could kill me if they wanted. I just didn't care anymore.

At least, I thought I didn't. Then she appeared. She bolted straight up to me. Her body cut straight through Aaron, breaking him into clouds of sickly grey smoke. She stopped just short of me. "You came back."

"You have to stop this."

"I can't though you know this." I refused to look at her, exhausted and embarrassed.

She tilted my face up in her soft hands. Her eyes were a brighter green, but just as big and striking. "Yes you can. This isn't real… any of it… remember."

"But you're here, it has to be. I need you."

"Remember how to heal yourself. Remember what I told you." she began to pull away. The space around us began to calm and turn back to normal. It was just an alley, no warehouse, no wreckage from battles, just the alley where my bike was parked. Even she was beginning to be hard to see.

"Where are you though? I look for you as much as I can but—"

She cut me off with a powerful kiss on the mouth. My hands freed themselves and took her face into them. If she was just in my head, why did this feel so real? She was so warm, and she felt so real. Maybe I was going crazy. "Get it together tough guy. I need you to find me remember?"

I shut my eyes once more before reopening them. She was gone again, taking all the noise and pain with her. I had not cuts or bruises, just a limp from my sudden jump. "I remember," was all I replied into the cold night.

I sat heavily onto my bike and threw the throttle, letting my dark red Harley roar to life. It was time to go home and sleep for ten thousand years.

_Michaelangelo_

Donnie was locked away in his room. Raph was out hunting ghosts. Leo typed madly away at the family lap top. And me? Well all I had was a hacky sack and a nearly empty living room. But even repeatedly bouncing the small bean bag on my ankles and elbows began to bore me.

"Leo, wanna watch a movie or something?" I called over.

"Huh? What…" he grumbled from behind his glowing screen, "Yeah sure, just a sec Mike."

I tossed the hacky sack into the corner of the couch. "What are you doing anyway, fearless leader?"

"Don't worry about it." He caught on too quickly when I jogged over. He quickly closed the window he had open. He stood bumping my shoulder and grinning, abusing the height difference to look down at me. "Well come on, dork. If you're not careful, I'm turning on _Sin City _again."

"Don't you dare. I hate that movie." I shoved him to the side and rushed for the player, beating him there easily. He suspected nothing, but I had seen what he was researching online. Just a few words, a title of an article, but it was enough to make a knot in the pit of my stomach:

_Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: How to Help Your Loved Ones_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! This chapter was definitely challenging to write, but I wanted to work with another perspective as well as give you guys another view of an old villain. I hope you guys like it and please feel free to Fav/Follow/Review! It means a lot to me. Thanks!**

**-Lullaby for a Stormy Night**

* * *

_11 years ago…_

_Oroku Saki_

_"__She hasn't spoken once since she came here. Not one word since she asked the paramedic where her brother was."_ The orphanage owner said as she led me down a narrow hallway. The interview room was at the far end. I looked at the worn out woman. Heavy bags ran under her slanted eyes and her black hair was gathered messily on top her head. _Exhaustion from chasing children no doubt._ I did not believe this woman knew a single thing about discipline, nor did she have what it took to mold these children to live up to their true potential. Only one of the residents had sparked my attention, however.

_"__I believe I can help the girl. I've heard her story. Just give me a chance."_ I replied in Japanese, our native tongue. I flashed my most charming smile, the same that could complete the most elaborate business deal or deceive any of my enemies.

When we reached the door she stopped short and looked up at me. _"Mr. Saki, I hope you can because this girl has no other family. We don't know what we will do if we can't help her. I have my doubts though."_

_"__As do I,"_ I replied charismatically, putting a sad, hopefulness into my word. "_But we must have faith."_ The brass handle turned beneath my grasp. In a straight backed wood chair sat the eight year old girl. Her back was all I could see at first. A dark grey turtle neck covered her thin torso with only a small sliver of bandaging easily seen on the back of her neck. Her hair had been chopped too short and clearly hadn't been brushed in several days. _She isn't allowing anyone to get close._

I walked in and took a seat across from her. A wood table rested between us. She would not make eye contact with me, only stared at her folded hands in her lap. Meanwhile, I looked her over. In the right health, she would have had a pretty face. One that may have constantly held a friendly and welcoming expression, if not for the emptiness in her eyes. A thin neck led to boney shoulders and frail arms. Surprisingly, even with the accident she had been in, she seemed physical unaltered besides possible scarring, but that I did not know the extent of.

"My name is Oroku Saki, do you understand?" she had no reaction to my question in English. "_Perhaps you can understand this? My name is Oroku Saki,_" I spoke again leaning forward across the table. Her eyes lifted at my fluent Italian. My tongue could speak many languages, Italian being one of the strongest, just like her.

"_Yes, very few would assume you would respond only to Italian, much less be able to speak it. But I am not like them. I am more like you than you may realize." _She still refused to speak. Dull, green eyes ran across my pin striped suit to my large hands, and finally, back up to my face. Nothing seemed to impress her, but she did seem curious. She was hard to read, careful not to give away anything about how she felt. "_I know what you have lost, for I have stepped into your shoes. I never was able to know my own family, my mother, father… They were all taken from me when I was too young, much like you. Years ago the woman I loved more than life itself was robbed from me as well. Now, I can never see them; I can never touch them again._"

A tear ran down her face, a face that began to warp with anger and resentment. "_Get angry, go ahead. You should be. I was. The world around us is meant to challenge every move we make. Why? Because I was meant hold it in the palm of my hand. Perhaps you are too."_

I smiled as she glared back up to me. "_You don't believe me, you don't trust me yet, and that's good. You are a survivor, so am I, but here you cannot live. If you agree to come with me, I can promise you a lifetime of strength, honor, and power. You will never feel small or alone again. Or you can stay here, live an ordinary life as a mere orphan. Your choice of course._"

"_What do you want, Mr. Saki?_" she barked back in her own language. My head went back as a chuckle escaped from me. She was not ready to quit yet, and I kept her courage marked in the back of my mind.

I faced down the cornered animal across from me. "_When I heard your story, I knew you were meant for so much more. You are more willing than most to fight for your life. I admire you and your clear strengths. I am looking to build a legacy for myself, and I believe you can help me with that._"

"_What would that mean for me?_" She asked a question beyond her years.

"_A brighter future. One were you could grow to be a queen. It would not be easy, and you may not make it through, but you would have the chance to really live. You're entire past would be behind you, but the path in front of you would stretch on. A new family, a new purpose. No more being the perfect little girl, instead you will grow to become a great warrior._" I watched the way she narrowed her eyes, considering my offer. She wanted it as much as I had when I was her age: a purpose. I could give her no more weakness or fear. All I asked for in return would be her loyalty above all else. Was that truthfully too much?

"_What is your decision Ms. Della Notte?_"

"_What have I to lose?"_ Her answer caused the corner of my mouth to rise as I took in the sight of my soon to be adopted daughter.

* * *

_Now..._

11 years ago I gave that miserable child a future. Without me she would have rotted until her mind was lost to insanity. I raised her to be strong. I taught her the true meaning of leadership and power. Without me Senshi would never have learned the art of ninjitsu or mastered the use of a blade to where she could separate the wings from the back of a fly. It was eye who gave her the ability to conquer her memory and feel the drive behind being free.

And now she had broken her oath of allegiance. Her infidelity turned her from an empress to worth no more than the dust beneath my feet. Her life was forfeit, and my daughter paid the ultimate price for her loss of devotion. My mind was overcome with memories of raising the child. In my eyes I saw scenes from the first day we met through her life of training and service to when I learned how she betrayed me.

Betrayed for what? Some disgusting freak of nature that just a few months ago she was more than ready to brutally murder. I was her father, her master. When she had no one else, _I_ was there. Together we climbed the mountains of India to take in the most untainted air. Together we created both a family to be feared and worshipped throughout Japan. She knew I was ready to give her everything.

I finally lost whatever sense of control I had left. Without another thought I spun and lashed out with my spiked hand. The sound of glass shattering filled the air as my forearm cleared the surface of a nearby table. I was in her old room. Picture frames and fragile trinkets splintered on the ground from their sudden change in location. I pulled back my hand with the gauntlet concealed beneath my white sleeves.

My sudden outburst of rage left me seeing red and breathing heavily. It was time I left this scene behind me. I was beginning to chase ghosts, an act that was far below someone of my stature. When I stepped forward, I felt a rather large piece of glass crack beneath my sandaled foot.

Reaching down, my hand closed around one of the picture frames. The photo inside was of a woman dressed in a sapphire gown fitted elegantly over her body. Her hair was gold and her eyes blazed emerald with pride. Beside her, a tall Japanese man who seemed to age more and more with every passing second, looked down at her. He was looking at his future and what he would be blessing his world with. She had just turned 16 and was accepted as the newest head of the Italian Foot Clan. The youngest in history, but she was ready. The girl had been brilliant and wise beyond her years. She had passed the finally test, one her sister Karai never could. And I was the one with her. This photographer was one of few taken of the two of us over our years together.

I slid the glossy paper out from under the cracked glass. The skin of my fingers rubbed against a divoted area on the back. Flipping it over, I studied the hills and valleys of her script, written in black ink.

_'__Father and I, __"__My dear father; my dear friend; the best and wisest man I ever knew, who taught me many lessons and showed me many things as we went together along the country by-ways." - Sarah Orne Jewett' _was scrawled across the back of the image. Each word crept into my chest. The sensation was nearly crippling, and I hated every moment of it. It swelled in my chest and was so overwhelming I wanted to take it out on the next person I saw. _She was mine, I raised her from a child and gave her everything. I was her companion. I lo—_

But none of that mattered. The young woman in the photo was dead. I cleared out of her bedroom. On the way out, I paused at the gas stove she rarely had used. So much of her apartment had been cleared out, but the kitchen remained untouched as it always had before. I turned the dial, and a small blue flame danced in the front burner. The fire licked the corner of the image. The picture warped and curled as the blaze consumed it as I walked towards the stainless steel sing. The remaining fragment of burning picture dropped from my hand and down into the basin.

The fire soon burnt out, just like any residual affection for the lost empress.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the long wait but I've been crazy busy and weirdly struggling with writer's block. Please, please, please bear with me! PLease Fav/Follow/Review and stay frosty you guys!**

**-Lullaby for a Stormy Night**

* * *

_Serena_

I was back in the states again, and Manhattan was close enough . It wasn't hard to get from southern Quebec into New York. A bus had taken me to the border. It had been perhaps the most uncomfortable mode of transportation out there, but it had done its job. Security let me through with no trouble. Elizabeth Lanza was the name printed on the passport. The I.D. and New York State driver's license both had the same name. Elizabeth Lanza… it had been my birth mother's maiden name.

I didn't know what Krista was thinking when she chose it, but now I was living the life of a dead woman.

Elizabeth Lanza then dropped $8,000 on only three things: two plastic bags from the nearest Wal-Mart and a red Honda motorcycle from a pre used lot. Neither place asked any questions when I paid all in cash. I didn't actually get an odd reaction until I arrived at the Lake Placid Lodge and was willing to pay over a thousand dollars in cash to secure the _Whiteface_ suite on the top floor. The lady behind the desk looked me over strangely and I must have been a sight. Two days of nonstop travelling, meaning no time to shower or change holding only two Wal-Mart bags and a drawstring one. If I didn't have the money, I would have been turned away in a heartbeat.

But I was here now, up in the "cabin in the woods" inspired suite. It was a gorgeous room, spacious bathroom, hand-carved king bed facing a stone fireplace, and a private covered balcony. That's where I was now, seated on the cream colored bed built out there, reviewing what I had just done.

The second I entered the room I locked the door and pushed the sofa from the middle of the large room right in front of it, barricading the room. My bags were thrown onto the autumn colored bed spread. I quickly undressed from the ratty series of jackets I had been wearing and slipped off the mud covered jeans. I stood for just a moment in only a wife beater and boy shorts. I only had so much time.

There were a few things that needed to get done first thing. I dug around in the bags for what I needed right away. Scissors, razor, hair dye… that was it. My hands full, I went for the bathroom.

Sitting on the edge of the giant porcelain tub, I tore open the box. Turning it over, two bottles tumbled into my hand. I unscrewed both tops and poured the activator into the other. For about a minute, I shook the mixture till I felt it was ready.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered stepping back from the tub. I leaned my head over and squeezed the contents over my scalp and through my hair. This sucked. The smell burnt my noised and the dye got everywhere. I didn't have time to be doing this properly. The goop covered my hands as I was forced to use them to cover all of my hair as evenly as possible. Not like there was a lot to even work with. It had hardly grown since… well since. I stopped moving my hands and sighed. I had uprooted so many lives and for what? Why did I decide to throw everything away for…

For him. It was stupid, but I thought about him often. He was the only reason I was going back and I didn't know why. Going back wasn't just a risk for me, but for him too. As far as I knew if I walked into his home, I would be killed upon sight. So why was I so willing? "I hope you've just forgotten about me," I said to the drain. But that wouldn't be true. You didn't just forget someone who had come into your life like I had. I wasn't trying to think highly of myself, it was just the truth. Maybe, just maybe, if I saw Raphael once more and knew he was okay, I could move on with what my new life could offer me.

I could hope anyway.

With the dye in, I stood and got ready for vitally important. I reached for the long counter and picked up the razor. Five overlapping blades stared me down as I sat again on the edge of the tub. The brass handles turned releasing warm water. I scooped water and splashed it against my legs before letting it run over the razor. The first stroke ran from my ankle to just below my knee. I gasped in bliss. The simplest of pleasures: shaving your legs.

I had gone nearly a month without. This was pure bliss. Out of everything that had happened to me, de-furring my legs seemed to purge something more from my body. I felt so shallow sitting there with dye in my hair, swishing my razor in the water. In a luxury hotel room for God sakes! I wasn't on a vacation with my rich mother and father, I was hoping to break free from a life of being hunted. _How can I possibly be enjoying myself?_

I had finished my right leg, and moved on to its partner. Each swipe made me a little more comfortable and even more miserable. The blades came to a stop halfway up my thigh. There, a straight scar, fresher than the others. I let my fingertips trace it. My eyes shut as the image of an arrow crossed my mind, me breaking off one end and pulling the other all the way through. Stitching it roughly with a needle and thread after pouring half a bottle of vodka over it. _It will never fully heal_. After all the times I had been hurt or beaten and this would be my permanent injury.

What if I had just stayed in that orphanage. _You would be dead, that's what._ My greatest question, but I knew the answer. I was too weak before, I still could be. The multiple straight lines on my wrists and even my hips were strong enough evidence. Pain erased faces, that I learned well.

"Enough of that. Don't pity yourself, you don't deserve it." I finished shaving before leaving the water running. The tub filled with the drain plug put in place as I removed my remaining clothes. I still had maybe15 minutes before I needed to wash my hair. I sunk into the steamy water. Leaning back, I winced at the sudden heat, but the water felt perfect. I scrubbed myself gently, but let the water do most of the work for me. I did okay keeping myself clean on the road, but I hadn't had anything quite like this. I could have sat there all evening, but time wasn't one my side. My feet pulled in, and I pushed myself up. I unplugged the drain and waited for the water level to fall. In the meantime, I made the mistake of glancing sideways.

My gaze connected with a stranger. Her hair was too short and covered in something bluish. The face below her messy hairline was sharper than it should have been. Dingy eyes were slightly sunken in with heavy bags beneath. Her chin shadowed a neck that lead to collarbones way more prominent than usual. The same weight loss that let her count all of her ribs did this to her. I couldn't recognize the woman I stared at without her curves and thick muscle. I looked truly pathetic and sickly. My tattoo wasn't even the same with how off colored my skin had become.

"Where do I go from here," I whispered. The last few months I filled the silence around me with all these questions. What else could I do? No one else would ask them. It was up to me now.

The tub stayed behind as I wandered to the walk-in shower. I turned the handle and began rubbing out the dye into the stream of water that felt like bullets. When the dye was out and down the drain, my hands planted themselves into the wall. I was waiting for something. Courage, to get out and face my reflection. I didn't want to see her anymore. All who looked back at me was Elizabeth Lanza and didn't know if I had the will to be her anymore.

But that wasn't my choice anymore. I had an oath to keep, no matter what it took. The water turned off. Damp feet padded across the heated tile floor. I paused in front of the mirror again. Scissors raised in my grip. The snap seemed to echo as I cut away any possible growth I may have had. Platinum blonde tufts fell to the floor as I continued chopping away.

I sat on the balcony overlooking the lake. The remaining hair was nearly dry as I fondled my new boy cut with diagonal bangs. The light color worked well against my Italian coloring and little streaks of my original coloring fought through. I was comfortable in a fresh charcoal v-neck shirt and dark washed jeans. A new hoodie and leather jacket sat in the bags with the rest of the items that would finish my transformation.

I sighed, reminding myself that I needed to leave early tomorrow and the sun was touching the Earth in the distance. I would sleep well tonight, eat well in the morning, and by the next evening I would be in the center of Manhattan.

In two days, I would be with old friends again, which nearly guaranteed that I would be dead.


End file.
